Tag Archive: Editor’s Choice

Coronavirus: WHO changes advice on masks

2020-06-10

by

2020-06-10

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently changed its advice on face masks. It now recommends healthy people wear them in public when social distancing is not possible, stating that they could provide a barrier for potentially infectious droplets.

Read More »

Coronavirus: Switzerland to reopen borders with EU, EFTA and UK on 15 June

2020-06-09

by

2020-06-09

Switzerland recently announced that it will lift existing entry restrictions with all EU and EFTA nations and the UK on 15 June 2020. In mid-May the Swiss government announced plans to fully reopen borders with France, Germany and Austria. On 2 June 2020, it decided to hold off on a full reopening of borders with Italy despite Italy’s decision to fully reopen its borders with Switzerland on 3 June 2020.

Read More »

Is the lack of inflight social distancing on SWISS airlines a risk?

2020-06-07

by

2020-06-07

Over two days last week, Thailand reported a score of new coronavirus cases. All were Thai nationals returning by air from the Middle East. Otherwise, there have been almost no new community or ‘inside country’ cases since mid-May.

Read More »

Coronavirus: Switzerland holds off on open borders with Italy

2020-06-06

by

2020-06-06

Switzerland’s Federal Council announced on June 2 that it plans to maintain border restrictions with Italy until further notice as a reciprocal border arrangement with Italy would be premature.

Read More »

Coronavirus: 22,000 Swiss deaths with no shutdown, estimate modellers in Zurich

2020-06-05

by

2020-06-05

Based on data from the first wave of Covid-19, epidemic modellers in Zurich estimate Switzerland would have suffered 22,000 deaths without the restrictions on daily life introduced in March 2020.

Read More »

Coronavirus: around 2 percent of Switzerland’s medical staff infected

2020-06-03

by

2020-06-03

2.1% of the 100,000 hospital staff working across 20 Swiss hospitals were infected with SARS-COV-2, according to a report published in the SonntagsZeitung.

Read More »

Coronavirus: number of tests stagnates in Switzerland

2020-06-01

by

2020-06-01

The number of daily new cases has remained low in Switzerland throughout May. The highest number of new cases over this period was recorded on 1 May (119). The latest daily number, published on 29 May, was 31 new daily cases. Since the beginning of May the number has been as low as 10.

Read More »

Coronavirus: new infections in Switzerland remain low

2020-05-31

by

2020-05-31

Over the last week there have been an average of 15 new SARS-CoV-2 cases a day. The first confirmed case in Switzerland was recorded on 24 February 2020. In the week that followed the number of new daily infections rose to 31. Another week later the number of new daily cases was 192.

Read More »

Swiss have mixed feelings about working from home, according to survey

2020-05-29

by

2020-05-29

Working from home is a mixed bag of pros and cons for most Swiss who were surveyed by gfs.bern in March and April 2020. But it worked for most. In 2019, before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, around 1.1 million employees in Switzerland occasionally worked from home.

Read More »

Coronavirus: drop in revenue could leave Swiss hospitals with 3 billion loss

2020-05-25

by

2020-05-25

In Switzerland, the finances of hospitals are similar to those of a business. If revenues fall, as they did during the coronavirus pandemic, profits can turn into losses.

Read More »

Most want masks made compulsory on Swiss public transport, suggests survey

2020-05-23

by

2020-05-23

More than two thirds are in favour of making masks compulsory on Switzerland’s public suggests a survey run by Tamedia, according to the newspaper Le Matin.

Read More »

Italy set to reopen borders with Switzerland from 3 June 2020

2020-05-20

by

2020-05-20

Italy is preparing to reopen its borders with the rest of Europe, according to the newspaper La Repubblica. A draft law on new rules was published on 15 May 2020 by the Italian Council of Ministers. It provides for the possibility of allowing entry to Italy from 3 June 2020 without requiring those arriving from certain countries to quarantine for 14 days. The countries include EU nations and Schengen members, including Switzerland and Monaco.

Read More »

Swiss government reveals more on Covid-19 tracing app

2020-05-16

by

2020-05-16

On 13 May 2020, Switzerland’s government published more information on the Swiss Proximity Tracing App (Swiss PT), an app designed to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Developed by teams at EPFL and ETHZ, the app uses Bluetooth to detect when your phone comes within two metres of another phone or device with the app. It then records the contact as an anonymous key and the duration of contact, flagging any close contact longer than 15 minutes.

Read More »

Coronavirus: the dangers of singing

2020-05-14

by

2020-05-14

As Switzerland reopens, the details around how SARS-CoV-2 spreads becomes more relevant to everyday life. Matthias Egger, the head of Switzerland’s Covid-19 task force, stresses the importance of continuing to follow social distancing and hygiene rules.

Read More »

Unemployment up sharply in April in Switzerland

2020-05-10

by

2020-05-10

The unemployment rate in Switzerland rose to 3.3% in April 2020, up from 2.9% the month before, a rise of nearly 14%. By 30 April 2020, there were 153,413 people registered as unemployed at Switzerland’s regional placement offices. Young workers were the hardest hit. Unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 rose by 18.1% compared to March 2020 and by 61.3% compared to April 2019.

Read More »

Coronavirus: relatively few medical staff infected in Switzerland

2020-05-03

by

2020-05-03

In Switzerland, around 3% of medical staff have been infected with Covid-19, based on data covering the period up until Easter, according to Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health.

Read More »

Coronavirus: Swiss schools and other establishments set to reopen

2020-05-01

by

2020-05-01

On 29 April 2020, Switzerland’s government announced plans to allow schools and other establishments to reopen on Monday 11 May 2020. From 11 May 2020, shops, restaurants, markets, museums, libraries, primary and lower secondary schools and sports training centres will be allowed to reopen. In addition, public transport will operate according to the standard timetable, announced the government.

Read More »

Coronavirus: 5.5 percent of Geneva might be infected, according to antibody study

2020-04-28

by

2020-04-28

A study done by researchers at Geneva’s HUG hospital suggests a Covid-19 infection rate of 5.5% across the canton of Geneva. Antibody blood tests, run on a randomly selected sample of the canton’s population, suggest around 27,000 might have been infected by the virus, a number 5.7 times the official count of 4,733 recorded on 24 April 2020.

Read More »

Coronavirus: predicting post-lockdown Switzerland with positivity

2020-04-24

by

2020-04-24

As Switzerland moves towards easing Covid-19 social restrictions, some fear the virus will get away again. A key part of containing the spread is testing. One way to evaluate how comprehensive testing is is to look at positivity, the percentage of tests that are positive. 

Read More »

Coronavirus: the age difference behind lower Swiss death rate

2020-04-23

by

2020-04-23

Switzerland’s Covid-19 death rate has been lower than much of the rest of Europe. A lower infection rate among older people appears to be one reason. The rates of deaths among those either recovering or dying have been particularly high in Belgium (40%), France (34%) and Italy (31%).

Read More »